Local Family Files Lawsuit After Photo of Deceased Relative Winds Up Online
A West Palm Beach family is suing a local funeral home for allegedly allowing a photo of their deceased relative to be posted on social media.The lawsuit, filed this week, states that an employee from Stevens Brothers Funeral Home took the photo of Jakiel Allyson Jones’ disfigured body and gave it to someone else. It ended up online soon thereafter.Jones was killed in a traffic crash on I-95 near Lantana last January.Her mother, Deanna Washington, says that Jones’ service was closed casket due to the significant injuries the woman sustained. She adds, “When I looked at the photo I saw that it was taken in the prep room at the funeral home. My baby partially clothed on a mortuary slab, with her hair pulled back. Her body had not been prepped for us or anyone else to view.”Her father, Jessie Jones, says, “We hired this funeral home to help us, in our hour of need, instead they took our pain and made it even worse,” said Jessie Jones, Jakiel’s father.The funeral home has not responded to requests for comment.“This case is about accountability, the funeral home was negligent, and they did not protect this family’s right to privacy during a very difficult time in their lives,” argues Nicole Hunt Jackson, the family’s attorney.Meanwhile, Jakiel Jones’ parents are searching for answers.According to Washington, “I couldn’t see who could stand over a dead person’s body and take a picture of them, to do wrong with that. Nothing good. You took my daughter’s picture and did wrong with it.”